Making Good Use

Well Pleased

I popped over to Billericay this morning to take a pair of P's work shoes to the shoe menders.  Sadly, the shoe mender declared they were beyond repair so, unless P wants to give stick-on soles a go, they are destined for the bin.  As he has worn them every work day for the last three years I don't suppose we can really complain!!

Anyway, whilst I was there I gave the charity shops a once over, and I found some excellent bargains.

For 55p there was this large piece of unused vintage fabric, which if this good weather keeps up I may turn into another kaftan top.

Hidden in the '10p box' in one charity shop was this lovely mushroom money box, sadly without the stopper for the base but I think I'll have a go at trying to find something to fit, and then I can use it for storing coppers and five pees.

For £1.65 was a pair of Spiderman pyjamas from Next for DN.  These are in excellent condition and appear hardly to have been used.  I was eyeing up yet another short-sleeved T-shirt for DN and wondering whether he already had enough of those, when out of the corner of my eye I spotted these beauties.  And I know he is always in need of pyjamas.

But the best bargain of all was these two pairs of summer-weight trousers for myself.  They are brand new with their original tags and were only 99p each.  I only spotted them when I was leaving one of the charity shops and couldn't believe that they had been reduced by the charity shop from £3.99 a pair to 99p a pair.  They are a size bigger than I would normally buy but when I got home and tried them on they fit very nicely, albeit a little loose around the waistband - but that's a good fault as far as I'm concerned.  And, wonders will never cease, they are actually long enough in the leg too.  One pair have a drawstring waist and are a linen-type material, the other is also linen-ish in a nice cool stone colour with fine pinstripes.  Just what I need as one pair of my summer trousers have definitely bitten the dust this past week.

On top of all this goodness were three new zips, a nice vintage apron, and a pile of books for resale.  I was well pleased indeed.

A Bit of Knitting and a Cake Recipe

I've been doing a little bit of gentle knitting lately.  First up is this baby's pull-on hat.

It's knitted in Rooster (www.laughinghens.com) Almerino DK.  This is a beautifully soft yarn being 50% baby alpaca and 50% merino wool.  The hat took absolutely ages to knit as it's worked on size 3 1/4 mm needles in k1p1 rib.  I'm quite pleased with it now it's finished but I'm not sure about knitting another one as it took so long to complete (I am a fairly slow knitter).  The little lace flowers are from some vintage trim I picked up at a jumble sale last autumn.

Secondly, and much much quicker to knit, is a wash mitt for mum knitted in Blue Sky Alpaca Organic Cotton.  I've done a few face cloths already in this yarn and they are buttery soft and wash and wear wonderfully well, but mum had the clever idea of a wash mitt and so this first one is for her. 

 

One side has ridges for a bit of light exfoliation.

The other side is smooth.

Finally, here is the recipe for the Plum and Oatmeal Madeira Cake I made last Friday.

Ingredients:

250g English Plums, 100g softened Butter, finely grated zest of 1 Orange plus 3 - 4 tsp juice, 100g Caster Sugar, 2 medium Eggs beaten, 125g self-raising Flour, 1/2 tsp Baking Power, 50g medium Oatmeal (I use porridge oats), 100g Icing Sugar.

1. Preheat the oven to 170 C, gas mark 3.  Grease a 450g loaf tin and line with non-stick baking parchment, making sure that the paper comes at least 1cm above the rim of the tin.  Halve and stone the plums and cut into chunky slices.

2. Using an electric whisk, beat together the butter, orange zest and sugar in a large bowl until very pale and creamy.  Gradually add the egg, mixing well after each addition, and sprinkle in a tablespoon of the flour with the last of the egg.  Sift the remaining flour and the baking powder into the bowl, add the oatmeal or oats and gently stir in with a wooden spoon.

3. Stir in two-thirds of the plums and tip the mixture into the loaf tin, spreading it level with the back of a spoon.  Scatter the remaining plums over the surface.  Bake for about 1 hour or until the surface feels firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.  Leave in the tin for 20 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool a little.

4.  Beat together the icing sugar and enough orange juice to make a smooth paste that just holds its shape.  Drizzle the icing over the top of the cake and leave to cool completely.

5.  Make a nice cup of tea and cut a large slice!!

I have to admit that I don't bother with the baking parchment, although I do grease and flour the tin well.  Also, I add all the plums to the mixture and don't bother scattering any over the top.  And I use far more of the orange juice and icing sugar than the recipe says in order to fully cover the top of the cake.

This is a wonderfully tasty cake and it remains beautifully moist and fresh for a few days (should it last that long!!)

Sock it to Me

I had hoped that during my week's absence the local charity shops would have had a really good turnover of stock, and that there would be lots of lovely new things for me to peruse.  Alas, that was not the case.  The same tired old books were on the shelves, and the same tired old bits of linen were hanging disconsolately from hangers - nothing, it seems, had changed at all.  However, the basket of knitting wool was stacked pretty high, and amongst the neon coloured 100 per cent acrylic yarns that tend to abound in said basket, I managed to find four balls of sock wool (destined for mum if she would like it) and a ball of gorgeous peacock green Aran weight 100 per cent wool (no doubt destined to become another beanie hat).

The sock wool isn't the most exciting of colours - being one ball of teal and three balls of a burgundy / forest green tweedy shade - but as the whole lot of wool only cost me £1.50 (30p per ball) I'm certainly not complaining.  The fabric in the background of the photo is the one and only charity shop item I bought whilst visiting mum - it's a handmade pillow case made using, if I'm not mistaken, a rather nice vintage Laura Ashley print.

When I got back yesterday afternoon (and before the latest deluge struck) I went out into the garden and picked in this colander full of ripe plums.

Half have been given to the next door neighbours, some are waiting to be stewed and some went into this Plum and Oatmeal Madeira cake I made this morning.

This is a recipe I've made many times when plums are in season and its absolutely delicious.  The photo in the background shows how the cake is meant to look - I think this is the only recipe I've ever made where my finished product looks pretty much how it should.  I shall look forward to having a slice (or two) for dessert this evening.

Ship Shape And Bristol Fashion

Now I'm home I can finally access the photos on my digital camera - note to self, next time remember to take the camera lead as well as the camera!!  So here is a picture diary of a very nice day out last Saturday.

First a wonderful visit here.

Just look at these baskets in the window filled with gorgeous yarns.

Mum and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, and are already planning a return trip.

Then on to a delicious lunch here.

Where we were joined by DN and his mummy.

Then it was on to a children's playground for DN to let off some steam, followed by a gentle stroll down a VERY steep hill back to the city centre.  En route I saw some unusual signs.

And some most inventive graffiti art.

Finally, to round off a lovely day, we had a nice cup of tea at a very posh hotel.  See if you can spot the hidden DN in this photo.

Perhaps you can see him in this one? (Apologies that it's so fuzzy but you've got to be quick when there's a four-year old about.)

Yes, for little boys, hiding behind chairs and under tables is just the best fun you can have in a posh hotel.

Spend, Spend, Spend

Most unusually for me my trip to Get Knitted involved spending quite a bit of money.  My excuse was that it's not somewhere I'll be able to visit very often, and they have the most wonderful selection of yarn and fabric.  I have ordered from them via the internet, but there is nothing quite like being able to take your time to choose which items you particularly like, and to be able to see their huge range 'in the flesh'.

Both mum and I had already decided that we both wanted to get some Pom Pom Makers.  When we got to the shop we realised they came in two different sizes.  I couldn't decide which set would be most useful, so I had to buy them both.

The array of fabric and Amy Butler patterns was much more extensive than I realised so I bought this Amy Butler small bag pattern.

As I've been wanting to try my hand at some zippered bags for a long time (my zip inserting skills are pretty poor) I'm hoping that this pattern will have all the answers.  Once I'd bought a pattern I just had to buy some small pieces of Kaffe Fasset and Amy Butler fabrics to make the bags with.

These are only small off-cuts of fabric, but I'm hoping I'll be able to team them with some thrifted plain linen fabric to make up the bags.  I could have spent really silly amounts of money on fabric as they had such a wonderful selection, but I showed at least a modicum of restraint, and picked out only my absolute favourites.

I also bought some more Blue Sky Alpaca organic undyed cotton in a couple of shades I haven't used before.

The large buttons on top of the balls of wool were only 50p each.  I don't know what I'll do with them, but I'm sure they'll come in useful eventually.

Finally, I did manage to get a bit of a bargain with these four balls of Debbie Bliss alpaca silk aran yarn for £8.  The yarn has the most wonderful silky feel, and I'm going to use them to knit a scarf for P for Christmas.

Get Knitted is the most fantastic wool shop I have ever seen.  The selection is first rate, the staff are helpful yet unobtrusive, there is free tea, coffee, and water, and very comfy sofas to sit on whilst you take a break from shopping.  And, most importantly after a very long bus journey to get there, a loo.  If anyone is in the Bristol area and hasn't visited I really can't recommend Get Knitted highly enough - it is absolutely fabulous.

Winners

Just a quick post to announce the winners of my 50th blog post draw.

Rachel's name was the first out of the hat and so wins the bag, and Gill's (www.lucysarah.blogspot.com) was the second and she wins the corsage.  Please get in touch with your postal address and I'll post the prizes out at the end of this week, when I'm back at home.

Mum did the honours, and says 'well done both of you'.

Half-Wit

Yes, I'm officially a half-wit.  I double checked with my computer-savvy brother-in-law that I could upload my pictures from my digital camera on to my mum's computer, but didn't realise I would need to bring my camera's lead too.  Have got loads of photos from our trip to Get Knitted today but have just discovered I'm unable to upload them!!  B*gger!!!!

Needless to say mum and I had a wonderful time at Get Knitted - definitely the absolute best knitting shop I have ever visited.  Lots of goodies were purchased - including Pom Pom Makers in various sizes, and some wonderful Kaffe Fasset fabric.  All have been duly photographed but will have to wait until I get home.  Double b*gger!!

Meanwhile I'll leave you with a photo of Lily looking sweetly pretty (although really she was eyeing-up a fly buzzing at the window).

And a picture of nephew and aunt playing computer games in tandem - well, what else can you do when it's a midsummer monsoon outside.

Go West

Posting will be a bit sporadic for the next week or so as I'm off to visit my family in the West Country.

There will be lots of hugs and cuddles from a certain DN (the best little boy in the West), for whom a big stack of thrifted Spiderman goodies have been packed in my suitcase. 

And Mum and I are planning a trip to Get Knitted.  We are both really looking forward to checking out the shop and having a good look at all the wonderful yarns and fabrics they have to offer.  I do know I want to get myself a Pom Pom Maker whilst I'm there but other than that it will be a case of seeing what's what, and trying not to go too mad with spending.  Although I have just noticed on their website that they've got quite a lot of Rowan yarns reduced, and a very interesting looking Interweave Knits about Felting - might just have to get myself a copy of that too.

Right on cue the plums in the garden have decided to ripen

so, fingers crossed, I shall come home to a plum picking frenzy.

Shopping Trolley Mugshots

Last week I saw an article on the local evening news saying they are thinking of charging 10p per plastic bag from shops and supermarkets (and a jolly good thing that would be too) and that if that happened a lot more people would start using shopping trolleys.  Now, it's not often that I could be considered at the forefront of a trend, but this time I just might be.

I've mentioned my trusted shopping trolley before, but I thought today I would post a couple of mugshots of it.

Front view:

Side view:

I've had this little beauty for about seven or eight years, and I can't imagine for how many hundreds of miles it must has been dragged along behind me.   I know it wasn't cheap at the time and we bought it from Lakeland but without it I wouldn't be able to do 95% of my shopping on foot.  Considering the tons of tins, packets, jars and pints of milk it has carried during that time, it is still looking pretty spiffy. 

I started using a shopping trolley when I was in my mid-twenties.  Back then I had a typical tartan 'granny trolley'.  It caused no end of amusement amongst my friends and work colleagues but I couldn't drive and we lived not too far from a mega Sainsbury's so, in order to save my arms from permanent damage, I bought a shopping trolley.  Since then I don't suppose there have been many times when I have been trolley-less.  Now I live in a small town which has a large elderly population, nearly all of whom have shopping trolleys, so I don't feel at all unusual when I set off to the High Street with my trolley bumping along behind me. 

As Cath Kidston now sells shopping trolleys (at a huge price), I suppose they are really becoming trendy.  Samantha at Plump Pudding made herself this fabulous one last year which is really lovely.

On a totally different topic, I actually treated myself to a couple of new tops which arrived this morning. I had been well set up this summer with sleeveless tops (imagining we'd have mega hot weather like the last few summers), but, as the weather has been truly horrible, I found I was severly lacking on short-sleeved tops and T-shirts.  So, having been seduced by a catalogue which arrived last week, and in honour of my forthcoming trip to see my family, I thought I'd splash out and treat myself.  I wasn't too sure that these tops would look OK or not as they are both 'smock' style, but I'm really pleased with them

Especially this patterned one.  Here's a close-up of the fabric, I really love the retro colours and pattern.

The other top is just plain red, but the cut and style is great - and very flattering.

And it goes perfectly with my new red Birkenstocks that I had for my birthday - excellent!!

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells

I know it's a bit previous to be thinking about Christmas in July but I couldn't resist this lovely selection of vintage glass Christmas tree ornaments that I found at the car boot sale yesterday.

There is this smiley and cheerful pink crescent moon.

These two candy striped drop baubles.

This box of gorgeous purple and mauve glittery baubles

And a large box of assorted glittery baubles.

They cost the grand sum of £1 for the lot.  I shall keep some for our Christmas tree and the rest I'll probably sell on ebay in November / December.  I'm not a great fan of Christmas but I do enjoy decorating our small artificial Christmas tree every year and I like to only use vintage glass baubles.  The tree was £1 many many years ago from a Scout Jumble Sale when we lived in Nottingham - I bought it in the May and felt a bit of a fool carrying it back home along a very busy road with people giving me some very odd looks indeed!!  But every Christmas when it emerges from the depths of the shed, I'm very glad I've got it.

I also got a lovely piece of vintage fabric yesterday too - it will probably be destined to be a lining for a bag, although I wouldn't mind making myself a summer top from it if I had enough material.

It's such lovely faded pastel colours, and I really like the weeping willow tree in the middle of the pattern.  I'll have to ponder about it for a while before I decide its ultimate fate.

I was in two minds about going to the car boot yesterday as we had had some heavy rains early in the morning, but it had brightened up again by about 10.00 am.  The car boot I go to is scheduled to start around 10.30 am (very civilised) so I thought it was worth giving it a go.  The funny thing was that there were only about half the number of sellers as at the same venue last week, but I came away with probably three times as much as I bought the previous week.  It just goes to show that you never can tell what you're going to find.

Just a reminder that I have extended the deadline for the draw for my handmade bag to next Sunday, 22nd July.  And that I'm also offering a second prize of one of my hand knitted corsages.  These are made with Noro Kureyon yarn, a pure wool felt leaf and a vintage button in the centre. 

There will be some vintage ric rac, vintage trim and a selection of vintage buttons included with the corsage as well.  Just leave a comment on this post or the previous one to be included in the draw.  I'm happy to post anywhere in the world.